The 21-year-old Yorkshireman also gained revenge over Spain's Javier Gomez, who had beaten him to the European title last week.

 

Brownlee leads the field at the halfway point of the eight race series, despite missing the opening event, after this stunning victory continued his 100 per cent record after wins in Madrid and Washington.

Brownlee said: "I can't believe I won.

 

"I felt absolutely awful in the swim and out on the bike but once I got on the run I felt great.

“It was a bit like training back in Yorkshire with the rain and cold conditions, and maybe that helped me.

 

"I'm not really thinking too much about leading the series right now, I'm just looking forward to the next race and having the opportunity to compete in London in a month's time."
 

The field was called back at the opening of the race after a false start, with a number of athletes expending wasted energy in swimming for around a minute until they were made aware.
 

Brownlee came out of the water with the leaders and, after recovering his footwear at the edge of first transition, kept in touch of a leading breakaway pack of three during the 40 kilometres bike in torrid, wet conditions.

Entering the 10km run, his strongest discipline, Brownlee wasted little time in closing the gap and took over the leadership within minutes, a position he never looked likely to relinquish, coming home eight seconds ahead of Gomez to win in 1 hour 48min 57sec.
 

Fellow Briton Will Clarke also produced an excellent performance to improve on his 10th place finish in Washington to claim seventh while Brownlee’s younger brother Jonathan, 19, who won the European Junior Championships last weekend, came 13th after trailing off from the front runners only in the final few kilometres in what was only his second World Championship race at senior level.

David McNamee, 21, from Scotland, making his World Championship debut, rounded off an exceptional day’s racing for the British squad with a creditable 17th.

 

The women's race was won by Australia's Emma Moffatt, in a very exciting finish, from Nicola Spirig of Switzerland was second and Andrea Hewitt of New Zealand in third.

 

Having fallen behind in the seventh lap of the biking leg of the race, the Olympic bronze medallist raced ahead in the running leg.

 

This was Moffatt’s second win in the series, having won in Washington DC.